A sex exhibition due to open in Ottawa today and aimed at children 12 and up has been modified, thanks to complaints from the public and a letter to a government minister.

Australian doctors have led calls for an inquiry into what has been labelled the “premature sexualisation of children in marketing and advertising”, with the Australian Medical Association arguing the practice is detrimental to child health and development.

Here's a pre Christmas shopping heads-up, especially for folks Down Under. It's a warning from Australian group Collective Shout, a grassroots campaigning movement challenging the sexualisation and objectification of women and girls, about brands that do precisely that.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has taken a lead in the battle against the pornification of culture and the sexualisation of children.

Child beauty pageants have become a live issue in Australia following the recent announcement by an American company (Texas-based Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant) that it will stage one of these shows in Melbourne at the end of July.